REUTERS - Saudi Arabia has agreed to give Pakistan $3 billion in foreign currency support for a year and a further loan worth up to $3 billion in deferred payments for oil imports to help stave off a current account crisis, Pakistan’s government said on Tuesday.

REUTERS - Russia’s Rosneft (ROSN.MM) and U.S. ExxonMobil (XOM.N) plan to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in a consortium with Indian and Japanese partners, spreading the estimated $15 billion cost, two sources familiar with the talks said.

CNBC - Ukraine announced on Friday it would raise household gas prices by nearly a quarter as Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman warned that the country risked default if it crashed out of its International Monetary Fund aid program.

REUTERS - French energy group Total and China’s CNOOC have strengthened their existing partnership in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector to increase their output, the companies said on Monday.

PLATTS - Bangladesh has terminated talks with Indian utility Reliance Power to build a new floating storage and regasification unit for LNG imports at Kutubdia Island near Chattogram port, a senior official at the LNG Cell said Thursday.

NIKKEI ASIAN REWIEW - China is expected to become the world's biggest importer of natural gas for the first time in 2018, overtaking longtime leaders Japan and South Korea.

PLATTS - Novatek will hold 49% and Fluxys 51% in the joint venture, which plans to build and operate a 300,000-mt-a-year terminal for receiving and unloading mid-scale LNG carriers, keeping LNG in storage, and providing downstream LNG distribution services.

PE - The development of Novatek's still-expanding Yamal liquefied natural gas project has so far proved to be largely immune from Western sanctions. As Asian demand surges, this is bolstering confidence among partners lining up to provide financing for the company's second LNG project on Russia's Arctic coast.

REUTERS - Exxon Mobil Corp is placing big bets on China’s soaring liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand, coupling multi-billion dollar production projects around the world with its first mainland storage and distribution outlet.

PLATTS - Norwegian natural gas exports to the UK jumped to their highest in six months Wednesday as consistently high UK prices incentivized flows normally only reserved for wintry periods.

PLATTS - India will be looking to ship in more crude oil from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to fill part of the vacuum created by reduced appetite for supplies from Iran, which is facing US sanctions, according to delegates and policy makers attending the India Energy Forum by CERAWeek.

GAZPROM - The parties discussed relevant issues related to bilateral cooperation, including the Baltic LNG project. Emphasis was placed on the priority measures aimed at developing a joint design concept (pre-FEED).

OPEC - In 2018, world oil demand growth is estimated at 1.54 mb/d, following a downward revision of around 80 tb/d from the previous month’s assessment, mainly to reflect the most up-to-date data in OECD Europe and the Middle East, as well as the latest developments in the economies of in Latin America.

PLATTS - Tokyo Gas will purchase up to 0.6 million mt/year from LNG Canada for a period of 13 years from April 2026 to March 2039, delivered on an ex-ship basis with destination flexibility, Tokyo Gas added.

REUTERS - The Nord Stream 2 pipeline that will transport Russian gas to Germany will be completed on time even if new sanctions are imposed on Moscow, Russia’s energy minister said.